A Mistake Never Repeated
by Sumomo Hanako
Summary: Cutie is kidnapped. Will Kertsi and Poppukoon be able to rescue her? Constructive criticism is appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

Kertsi sat down at her desk. She wanted to write her story. She _needed _to write her story. If she didn't, she would forget everything, repeat her mistake, and end up hating Cutie Pie again. The red Aisha sighed at the thought of her younger Kacheek sister and the trouble she had gotten in.

_The trouble you got her in, you mean. _Kertsi reminded herself as she picked up her pencil and started writing…

Kertsi woke up to the sound of crying. It must be her little sister, Cutie Pie, for it came from her mum's room. She could hear Trista groan and slide out of her bed to comfort the baby Kacheek. Kertsi scowled and looked around her, as though trying to remember where she was. She was in their new neohome on Terror Mountain, on the couch in the living room. Her other sister, Poppukoon, was snoring on the rug oblivious to Cutie's wailing. She wished their rooms would hurry up and get done so she and Poppukoon didn't have to sleep in the living room anymore. Trista's bedroom was the only one done so far, and she and Cutie slept in there. Kertsi stuffed her fists into her ears as the wailing continued. Sometimes she wished they had never adopted Cutie. Eventually, the sobbing quieted down and the red Aisha was able to fall back asleep.

The next morning, Kertsi had just finished the omelet and was preparing to go out when Trista popped her head into the living room.

"Kertsi? Poppukoon? Could you do me a favor?" She asked. Kertsi elbowed the blue Kyrii to make her look up from her book before Trista continued. "I need to go out; could you watch Cutie for me?"

Kertsi groaned. "But Mo-om, Poppukoon and I were going to go out too!"

"Then take her along." Trista suggested, handing Cutie to Poppukoon.

"'Course we'll take her, Mom!" Poppukoon assured her mother. "Don't worry about a thing."

Trista gave Poppukoon a quick, grateful smile and was out the door before anyone could say anything else. Kertsi mumbled incoherently under her breath before Poppukoon, with Cutie in one arm, dragged the Aisha out of the house.

Soon they were standing outside in the knee-deep snow on Terror Mountain. Good thing they had bundled up nice and warm, otherwise they would freeze. Poppukoon handed Cutie over to Kertsi.

"Watch Cutie, I'm gonna go check out the Garage Sale. I'll be back in a minute." The blue Kyrii said, trotting off to the Garage Sale before Kertsi could protest.

"Great." Kertsi muttered. "Now I've got to watch you by myself." She glared at Cutie, who in turn just gazed up at her.

"Kewtsi, I'm hungwy." Cutie whimpered.

Kertsi sighed. "Alright, but you stay here, okay? Stay right here, and don't move." She commanded the baby Kacheek. When Cutie nodded, Kertsi put her down on a stone cleared of snow and headed off to Super Happy Icy Fun Snow Shop to get chia pop for her little sister.

Soon she was heading back with a super sour shocker chia pop for Cutie, and a lime snow puff for herself. She trudged through to snow to the spot where she had left Cutie.

"Oh no!" She gasped, almost dropping the snow puff when she caught sight of the spot. "I i _thought_ /i I left Cutie here. I'm sure I did! Only… where is she?" It, indeed, was the spot where Kertsi had left her little sister to wait; only Cutie wasn't there anymore. "Um, ma-maybe Poppukoon has her?" The hope in her voice was plain, even though she doubted Poppukoon had even come over here.

A moment later, Kertsi burst into the Garage Sale, gasping for breath. She braced her hands on her knees, then looked around frantically for Poppukoon.

"Poppukoon!" She gasped, finally spotting her sister and hurrying over.

Poppukoon had found an old copy of the Neopian Times and had been reading it when Kertsi interrupted her. She now looked up at Kertsi, a bit annoyed having been interrupted from her reading. "What?" She asked crossly.

Kertsi ignored Poppukoon's annoyance. "Is Cutie here with you?" She wondered hopefully. Poppukoon shook her head.

"I left her with you, remember?" She reminded her sister.

Kertsi gulped. "I-I know. Except, well…" She took a deep breath. "Cutie said she was hungry, and so I left her on a rock that wasn't snowy to go get her a chia pop. When I came back… she was gone." The red Aisha confessed. Poppukoon stared at her, her expression going from annoyed to shock to concern.

"You-You left her there? Just like that? By herself?" Poppukoon gasped. Kertsi nodded. Poppukoon groaned then immediately took charge. "First, we go back and look for clues." Kertsi nodded once more and they headed back to where Cutie first disappeared from.

"Hm…" Poppukoon examined the boulder where Cutie had last been seen. "Not many clues, are there?" She muttered to herself, crouching down to get a better look at the footprints in the snow. "Say, Kertsi, you were carrying Cutie, right? Well, up until you set her down anyway."

Kertsi nodded and crouched down by Poppukoon. "Well, yeah. She would sink up over her head if I didn't. Why?"

Poppukoon pointed to the varying footprints around the boulder. "'Cause I see Aisha prints, and Kyrii prints. And… Kacheek prints. Look." As she named each type of footprint, she pointed to them. Then she gently ran her finger in the snow next to a set of unknown footprints.

"What? You actually know the difference between them all?" Kertsi asked in surprise. Well, actually, she shouldn't be too surprised. Poppukoon loved reading and studying and did it every second that she could.

"Yes, I do. But now isn't the time to discuss my academic achievements, Kertsi." Poppukoon sighed. "Pay attention to the matter at hand."

Kertsi frowned, she didn't exactly like her younger sister telling her what to do, but right now finding out who took Cutie, where they were, and why was more important than her pride. "So, then the neopet who kidnapped Cutie is a Kacheek?"

"Yup, or they leave Kacheek prints, anyway. So I assume they're a Kacheek." Poppukoon informed the red Aisha. She was about to stand up when she noticed a piece of paper on the ground, almost invisible against the heaping mounds of snow. She picked it up and then stood. Kertsi stood as well, brushing the snow off her pants. "What's this?" Poppukoon murmured aloud. She unfolded the piece of paper and read the note. Her eyes widened in shock and she passed it to Kertsi so she could read it as well.

_"I have your kid," _Kertsi read, _"If you want her back, come to Coltzan's Shrine in the Lost Desert with two-million neopoints. Only the Kyrii and Aisha are to come, and no one else. You are to tell no one. No friends, no family, and especially not the Defenders of Neopia." _She almost dropped the note in shock after she read the letter. It was not signed.

Poppukoon took the note from her older sister and tucked it in her pants' pocket. "We have to tell Mu-"

"No." Kertsi cut her off mid-word. "We will not tell Mum, got that?" She fixed Poppukoon with a no-nonsense stare.

"Well, but, don't we need to…" Poppukoon stammered, and then stopped. "Alright, you're the boss. What _i do /i _we do then?"

Kertsi opened her mouth, then closed it again and repeated the process, making her look somewhat like a hungry Koi. "I… don't know." She admitted finally.

"Well then, I say we go back to the neohouse anyway and figure out something there." Poppukoon suggested with a smile. "'Sides, I'm getting really cold out here."

Kertsi laughed. "Alright then, Poppukoon. Let's head home."

Soon the two had arrived at their neohome and were seated in the living room, discussing what to do. Fortunately for them, Trista wasn't home yet. Kertsi and Poppukoon were kneeling by the coffee table. Neither had taken off their jackets, since they hadn't bothered to start a fire in the fireplace. Poppukoon had laid the letter out on the coffee table and was resting her head on her hands as she stared at it.

"I don't see what else we can do, Kertsi." Poppukoon finally confessed. "It clearly says only we are to come."

Poppukoon winced as Kertsi banged her head on the table. "I know, Poppukoon." She groaned. "I know we have to go alone, and who knows what Mum will do when she finds out Cutie's gone."

"Well, first she'll be furious, and give us the worst punishment she can think up. Then, she'll be depressed, sobbing, cheerful but fake, and angry in turns." Poppukoon mused.

"You're not helping." Kertsi informed her, glaring up at her sister. Poppukoon just grinned. "Anyway, back to the subject at hand." She sat up again and turned her attention back to the ransom note.

"Okay, first off, we know we have to go alone. Second, we know we can't bring the two-million neopoints since we don't even have half that much." Poppukoon traced a wrinkle on the table absently. "So we have to go alone with out telling Mum."

Kertsi nodded. "Uh-huh. And we also have NO IDEA WHERE THE LOST DESERT IS! AND, WHAT WILL WE DO ABOUT THE EXSPENSE OF TRAVELING?!"

Poppukoon, mostly used to her sister's outbursts by now, waited till she had calmed down before putting forth her suggestion. "There's a map above Mum's desk, in her room. Plus, did you forget? Mum gives us an allowance each week. You asked me to keep half of yours, so you didn't spend it." She gently reminded her.

Kertsi blinked. "Oh yeah." Was all she said. Poppukoon chuckled, stood, and led the way into their Mum's room. Once they were in the room, they made a buzzerline for the Icy Desk. Poppukoon pushed back the rolling chair and climbed on the desk, trying to ignore the fact that the desk was made of ice and therefore incredibly cold. She pulled down the big Neopia map from the wall and rolled it up.

"Alright, the banks should be…" Poppukoon headed back into the living room and handed the map to Kertsi to hold. She picked two piggy banks off the mantle of the fireplace and held them both upside down over the table. She shook them both hard until they didn't clink anymore. The banks were set aside, and Poppukoon and Kertsi started counting the neopoints piled up on the table.

"Fifteen-thousand." Kertsi sighed. "It's not very much."

Poppukoon scooped the neopoints into her hands. "No, not for traveling across the world." She agreed. "We could take some from Mum's bank, and pay her back when we get back." She suggested.

Kertsi shook her head. "No, we're already stealing her map, remember? So we aren't taking her neopoints. Who knows? Maybe we'll get lucky along the way and find some more." Poppukoon reluctantly nodded her head and they made their way into the entryway, where they each grabbed a bag.

"We'll each carry half of the neopoints, and one will hold the map, the other will hold the food." Poppukoon said, dumping her half of the neopoints into her bag while Kertsi did the same. Poppukoon volunteered to carry the map, and they stuffed a few extra jackets and scarves into their bags. They had grabbed a few omelets and jellies from the kitchen, since they didn't dare take anything else, and Kertsi sealed them in plastic bags and dropped them in her bag. Poppukoon suddenly remembered something and ran into the kitchen, emerging with four water bottles.

"Four?" Kertsi asked, accepting two of them.

Poppukoon nodded. "We'll drink from one, and the other keep at the bottom of our bags, just in case. Plus, we can fill one with snow and drink from the other while it melts, then switch."

Kertsi nodded her understanding and was putting her hand on the doorknob when they heard a whine behind them. They spun around, ready for it to be the kidnapper behind them. Both breathed a sigh of relief when they noticed it was only Kumo, Cutie's Magaral, Taiga, Kertsi's Tigermouse, and Jelly, Poppukoon's Blobagus. They obviously wanted to go with their mistresses on their journey. Kertsi smiled at Taiga as she braced her paws against Kertsi's legs.

"Sorry guys, but you can't come." She told them. "You have to stay here and keep Trista company while we're gone." Though it was reluctantly, the petpets backed off to let the girls leave. Kertsi opened the door and they headed out on their mission.

* * *

Author's Note: This story was originally intended for The Neopian Times on The neopets in here are from my old account, which no longer exists. I appreciate constructive critisism and the next installment will be up next week. 


	2. Chapter 2

Kertsi sighed and leaned back in her chair. Her hand was cramping and she was quite tempted to just leave her story at that. Just as she was about to decide what to do, Poppukoon poked her head into the room.

"What are you doing, Kertsi?" She asked walking over to the desk. She peered over her older sister's shoulder and read the sheets in front of her. Poppukoon nodded. "I remember that time." She mused. "That trip down the mountain was horrible…"

Kertsi shivered and, not for the first or last time, wished that they had never left. They had been gone for three days, and by now Trista certainly would have noticed they were gone and alerted the Defenders of Neopia.

"Poppukoon, couldn't we have at least left Mum a note?" She asked, turning to look over her shoulder at the blue Kyrii.

Poppukoon shook her head. "For the last time, Kertsi. The note said no one else was to know." She reminded her.

Kertsi frowned. "How would they know, anyway?" She asked scornfully. "Or, even better, Mum could have come with us. Then we wouldn't have to avoid any Neopian Lodges, and actually go someplace decent for dinner." It was true. Since Trista had undoubtedly informed the Defenders of Neopia that they were missing, they had avoided all commercial shops and Neopian Lodges in favor of privately owned shops and camps on the side of the path. That way they wouldn't be caught and sent back home. "And when we reached Coltzan's shrine, she could just stay at the camp."

"No!" Poppukoon insisted. "We don't know who we're dealing with or what sources or magic they have. Plus, if Mum had come, do you think she would have just stayed at the camp while we got Cutie?" Kertsi shook her head, a bit embarrassed for not thinking of this. "Of course not! She would never be able to! She'd probably follow us. You know how she is!" Kertsi sighed. It was true their mom wasn't the one to really think much before she acted, especially in situations like this.

"I wonder what Mum's doing right now…" Kertsi murmured. Poppukoon rolled her eyes: they both knew what Trista would be doing right now. She would be sitting on the sheet-covered couch, sobbing, or she would be commanding a large search party. The second one was the most likely. They walked for a few more hours in silence, speaking only to comment on their surroundings and to announce it was time to take a break for lunch.

"So, Kertsi, what do we have for lunch?" Poppukoon asked as they plopped down on two boulders.

"Well, Ma'am, today we have a delicious bacon and broccoli omlette, with crispy bacon, and perfectly stir-fried broccoli," Kertsi told her in a deep voice. "And to accompany that, we have some delicious snow-water." She grinned as she finished her announcement, pulling out an omlette and half-empty bottle of water. They had limited themselves to only two omelets a day, or one jelly. Not much of a meal, but it worked.

They walked on for many more hours, not speaking much since that would take energy they didn't have. Eventually, when it got so dark they could no longer see where they were going, they stopped for the night. There was no wood around for them to build a fire with, so they huddled in their jackets and scarves.

"I wi-wish we had brought buh-blankets." Kertsi stammered, trying to burrow farther into her jacket.

Poppukoon rubbed her hands together, trying to create friction to warm herself. "Wuh-we had no roo-room in our bags, remember?" Kertsi sighed and the two sisters scooted closer together as the night got even colder.

The next few days followed that pattern: Wake up, have a small breakfast, walk, eat a small lunch, walk some more, stop to eat a small dinner, refill their water bottles with snow, sleep, and repeat all this the next day. They continued traveling this way until they realized that, slowly but surely, the snow around them was melting.

"Poppukoon! Poppukoon!" Kertsi exclaimed, eagerly pointing around them at the spots of dirt showing through the snow. "We must finally be getting to the end of Terror Mountain!"

Poppukoon grinned as she took in her surroundings as well. "Wow! You're right! Let's stop for a second, Kertsi, for lunch and so I can look at the map." So they stopped, choosing a particularly large path of dirt as their resting spot. Poppukoon knelt down and spread the map out on the ground, using small stones to keep it flat. "Okay, so we're here," She put a pebble on a spot at the border of Terror Mountain and Tyrannia. "And we need to get here." She placed another pebble in the Lost Desert.

Kertsi sighed, taking a seat beside Poppukoon and pulling out a jelly. "That's a really long trip." She groaned. "How long do you think it will take us to get to the Lost Desert?"

"Well, if we travel as long as we can each day, taking only one short break for lunch, and we have no interruptions and no detours we should get there in about…" Poppukoon tapped a finger against her chin, thinking. "Three more weeks, give or take a few days."

Kertsi moaned at the aspect of such a long trip. "Well, let's get going then." She muttered. Poppukoon nodded, deciding to eat on the way. She pushed pebbles and stones off the map, rolled it up, stuck it in her bag, and they were on their way.

They trudged on for several more days, their legs getting more and more tired.

"I'm pooped!" Kertsi declared, plopping herself down on the ground in the shade of a big boulder. By this time, all the snow was gone and the only things around them were rocks, dust, and dirt. "And sick of all this BROWN! Can't you take us some other way?"

Poppukoon sighed and sat down next to her sister. They would have time for a small break. "Well what you suggestion, Kertsi?" Poppukoon snapped. The monotony of their journey was making irritable. "Hop on a Pterri or something and just fly there?"

Kertsi glared at the blue Kyrii beside her. "It'd be better then-" Suddenly Poppukoon clamped a hand over Kertsi's mouth and held her finger to her lips. They both shrunk down against the boulder and listened. They could hear three pairs of feet stomping up the road.

"They've got ta be around 'ere somewhere." A voice muttered.

"Well, yeah, they i should /i be. But what if that Kiko's info was wrong?" Another voice retorted.

"No, no, they're here. Look." This time it was a third voice that spoke, and at his words the footsteps stopped. Poppukoon and Kertsi slowly poked their head over the boulder. There, on the path, stood a green Lenny, a red Grarrl, and a yellow Jetsam. Each one was wearing the yellow, red, and black uniform of the Defenders of Neopia. They were peering down at a set of footprints. Kertsi's and Poppukoon's footprints, to be exact. The two quickly slid behind the boulder again, staying as still as possible.

"Well, let's just follow their footprints." The first speaker, the Jetsam, suggested. The Lenny and the Grarrl nodded and followed the footprints over to the boulder. Luckily, they boulder was a ways off the path.

"What should we do?" Kertsi whispered frantically.

Poppukoon screwed up her face. "Kertsi, I'm gonna sneeze…" She informed her quietly.

"No! Don't sneeze, Poppukoon! Don't sneeze!" Kertsi hissed.

"I can't stop… I'm gonna… ah… ah… Choo!" Poppukoon sneezed loudly. The three Defenders looked over at the boulder and were hurrying over to it.

i _They're gonna catch us! What can we do…_ /i Kertsi looked around frantically. Then, because she saw no other option, she jumped up, yanked Poppukoon to her feet, and took off.

"Hey! Aren't those the two we're looking for? A blue Kyrii and a red Aisha?" The Lenny exclaimed. His companions nodded and they took off after the two siblings.

Kertsi glanced behind her and saw Poppukoon, and a little farther back the Jetsam and Grarrl.

"Hey, where's the-" She didn't have time to finish her sentence for she had just seen where the Lenny had disappeared to. He had flown, instead of run, and was already ahead of them and right in their path! "Poppukoon, turn around!" She screamed, but Poppukoon was already turning. Kertsi followed her and they headed off in another direction, going farther and farther away from the path. They dodged between boulders, jumped over holes, and scrambled through the sparse bushes in an attempt to get away from the Defenders. After running for what seemed to be hours, they finally collapsed, out of breath.

"Are… are they still following us?" Poppukoon gasped.

Kertsi looked over her shoulder. "No, I-I think they gave-gave up." Poppukoon looked relieved and rearranged her bag so she could lay flat on her back. "Why did we run from them, anyway?" Kertsi asked, finally catching her breath enough to get out a sentence without stammering.

Poppukoon didn't even look over at her. "Because if they had caught us, they would either send us back, insist to come with us, or send us back and go in our place." She explained. "Then we probably wouldn't ever see Cutie again." Kertsi sighed. She didn't exactly want to think of that.

"C'mon, Poppukoon." Kertsi muttered, standing up. "We've still got a long way to go."

And they didn't stop for the rest of the day, not wanting to get caught by the Defenders again. Eventually, they reached the coast of Tyrannia. Now they just had to find a boat and get across to Meridell.

"Now what?" Kertsi asked, staring out of the great expanse of water.

Poppukoon, on the other hand, was scanning the coast. "Look for a place to buy a ticket onto a boat. Otherwise we're stuck here." She instructed. Kertsi turned her attention along the coast.

"Like that boat over there?" She asked, pointing to a good sized boat a ways down the shore from them. Poppukoon nodded and they headed down towards it. As they got closer, they discovered that is wasn't a good sized boat, but rather a small ship. It was a sturdy ship, well-built and prepared for sea. It would withstand a small storm, though not a large one, and was expertly built to best travel through waves. Kertsi, though, had no idea what a fine ship it was. Even Poppukoon, who read at every possible chance, only had a small idea of what a fine ship it was. They reached the ship and stared first at it, then around it to see if they could see anyone. No one was in sight. With a sigh, Kertsi and Poppukoon turned to go when they heard a voice.

"Ahoy Lads! I say, ahoy lads! No wait, yer lasses aren't you? Yar, I reckon you are lasses. What with the hair 'n all." It wasn't really a gruff sounding voice, but the odd way the person spoke made it seem gruffer then it was. The two sisters spun around and spotted a blue Techo walking towards them. He had a beard, and wore a sailor's uniform he had modified it to look like it belonged to a higher-ranking seaman. "An' what might you two fine youn' lasses be doin' lookin' at my fine sherp?"

Poppukoon and Kertsi were both momentarily stunned at this Techo and his very forward manner. Poppukoon recovered first and spoke to answer his question: "We were looking for a ship bound for Meridell, so that maybe the captain would let us pay our way across." She had switched automatically into her formal, diplomatic tone. "We noticed your very fine ship and thought it more then perfect. We looked around, but saw no one so we thought no one was here. We now realize that we were wrong." She paused, thinking, then continued. "Now, might you be the captain of this wonderful ship?"

There was a pause while they waited to the Techo's answer. Suddenly, he burst into laughter! "Ah ho ho hoy. Lass, you crack me up!" He exclaimed after he recovered from several minutes of laughter. Kertsi and Poppukoon exchanged glances. They couldn't figure out for the life of them what he thought was so funny! "But aye, I am the captain of this hare sherp."

Kertsi brightened and, before Poppukoon could say anything, exclaimed, "Then will you let us pay our way to Meridell?"

The Captain's eyes crinkled with suppressed laughter. "Aye. It's just yer luck that I'm headed tards Meridell, and I'm acceptin' a few passengers. It'll be four-thousand neopoints each."

Kertsi's face fell and Poppukoon gulped. After all the money they had spent on jellies and omelets, they only had nine-thousand neopoints left. And they wouldn't be able to get from Meridell to the Lost Desert on only one-thousand. "Um, you wouldn't be willing to drop the price to two-thousand each, would you?" Poppukoon offered. "We'd do work to pay the rest."

"Hm, I'm not shar…" The blue Techo stroked his beard thoughtfully while he considered their offer. The silence seemed unbearable. And just as Kertsi thought she would burst, they got an answer. "I suppose you could if you promise to work to pay the rest."

Kertsi grinned and Poppukoon let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "That you so much!" The exclaimed together. "When do we leave?"

They were now several days out at sea, and four-thousand neopoints poorer. When they first got on the ship, introductions had been made between the Techo, Kertsi and Poppukoon. They had been instructed to call the ship's captain, Captain. And Captain called Kertsi Lass, and Poppukoon Lassy. At the moment, they had caught a good wind and were sailing along quite quickly. Kertsi and Poppukoon stood at the edge of the deck, against the rail, taking a break from their chores.

Poppukoon glanced around and once she was sure they were alone, she spoke to Kertsi in hushed tones. "The crew is quite strange, aren't they?" She asked. In reality, the crew was mostly normal. Except for a green Lenny, a red Grarrl, and a yellow Jetsam. They looked exactly identical to the Defender members who were chasing the siblings days before and always were around.

Kertsi nodded. "They hardly ever let us out of their site." She whispered back.

"I say they're those Defenders that were chasing us." Poppukoon confided. "I mean, when we asked them they looked uncomfortable and looked away, barely muttering a 'no.'" Once more Kertsi nodded her agreement. Suddenly Captain's voice boomed over to them.

"Lass! Lassy! Back to work! This deck don't shine itself, yer know."

Kertsi cringed and Poppukoon sighed as they grabbed their mops and got back to work cleaning the deck.

Just around the corner, the three crew members that Kertsi dubbed 'strange' discussed their plans. "So how do we confront them?" the Grarrl asked.

The Lenny stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I'm not sure. We don't even know why they ran away, much less how to get them to come back."

"We could scare 'em into comin' back." The Jetsam suggested. The glares from his partners told him that was _ i not /i _an option. "Okay, okay, sorry. Sheesh." He muttered.

"Well, we'll try and get 'em to talk to us first." The Lenny told them. "Then we'll talk them into coming back." The other two nodded and they headed off in search of Kertsi and Poppukoon.

"Hello, Ladies."

Kertsi's head jerked up and Poppukoon turned to see who was calling them. It was the three-crew-members-who-are-actually-Defenders. Kertsi's eyes narrowed in suspicion, but Poppukon's expression remained neutral.

"Yes?" Poppukoon asked blandly.

The Grarrl stepped forward. "Well, we heard that you were runaways." He stated. Kertsi stiffened, but the Grarrl didn't seem to notice and went on. "We were just wondering why exactly you ran away. Bad home?"

"Our home is wonderful. That's not why we ran away." Poppukoon murmured.

Jetsam stepped in to try. "Why did you run away then, do you want more adventure?"

This time Poppukoon shook her head. "No. We don't want more adventure." Kertsi placed her hands on her hips. This was taking too long to get rid of them.

Now the Lenny spoke. "So once more, why did you run away?"

Poppukoon opened her mouth to speak, but Kertsi spoke up again. "We will not tell you why." She informed them firmly. "You have no reason to know, unless…" She smiled. "You're with the Neopian Defense Force?" The Lenny blinked and all three looked uncomfortable, and Kertsi continued. "But since you said you aren't, we won't tell you." The Jetsam frowned and tried, like Poppukoon, to speak up but Captain stalked over to them.

"Lassy, Lass!" He barked and he took in the scene. Three of his crew members confronting two of his passengers and Lass and Lassy looked as though they didn't want to be there. "What're ya doin'?"

Poppukoon saw their chance. "Oh, these folk were bothering us."

Kertsi blinked and looked confused for a moment, but quickly caught on. "Yes, we would appreciate it if they would leave us alone for the remainder of the trip."

Captain looked skeptical for a moment, but decided to give the girls the benefit of doubt. "You heard deh lasses, men! You are not to bother these fine young lasses till they leave this ship!" The three 'crew' men looked rather annoyed, though they masked it quite well by faking looking ashamed. They muttered a 'fine' and left. "There ya go lassies! Those men shouldn't bother ya much anymore." Satisfied, Captain left them alone.

A few days later, they reached Meridell. As Kertsi and Poppukoon started to leave the ship, Captain stopped them.

"Well Lass, Lassy, where are ya off ta now?" He asked them. Kertsi was a little surprised. How did Captain know they're destination wasn't Meridell?

Poppukoon was surprised as well, but recovered before Kertsi did. "How do you know we aren't planning to stay in Meridell?"

The Techo's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "I have my ways, Lassy."

Poppukoon smiled. For some reason, she knew she could trust him. "We're off to the Lost Desert."

"Lost Desert, hrm?" Captain stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Well then let me tell you this: Avoid deh Haunted Woods and deh coast. Neopian Defenders are quite common 'round those parts, and I get deh feelin' you don't want to run into those folks."

Kertsi grinned. "Thank you, Captain." She murmured. Then, with a wave, she and Poppukoon left to continue their journey.


	3. Chapter 3

Kertsi grinned and set down her pen. Her story was coming along quite nicely. Poppukoon had long ago left with Trista to get a snack. Cutie was sleeping on Kertsi's bed, where Kertsi could keep an eye on her till Trista got back.

"Hm…" The red Aisha thoughtfully tapped her pen against her chin. She didn't want to make this too long, so she would have to leave out some unimportant part. "Though us visiting the market in Meridell was pretty important, wasn't it?" She asked herself. "I'd better put that in."

Kertsi and Poppukoon wandered through the streets in Meridell, looking for a shop where they could get disguises. After the run-in with the Defenders on Captain's ship, they decided they couldn't take any chances with meeting them again. Though there didn't seem to be any place that sold outfits.

"Argh! C'mon, some one's got to have a clothing shop around here!" Kertsi exclaimed. "Or just a cloth shop. That's all we need!"

Poppukoon suddenly grabbed Kertsi by the arm. "Over there!" She hissed, pointing to a stall hiding behind the tents by the Ultimate Bullseye range. There were dresses and shirts and pants draped on it, hung from the sign, and piled in and around it. A short, pink Acara was busily sewing a dark blue shirt. The two headed over to the stall and the Acara looked up as they came closer.

"Hello there, dearies." She greeted them with a friendly smile. "Have you come to get a beautiful dress?" Kertsi nodded. "Then I have just the ones for you!" The Acara set aside the shirt she was working on and lifted an elegant, ruffled, light blue dress from a pile. "Oh this would look wonderful on you!"

Kertsi bit her lip and looked the dress over. It was much to fancy for a disguise. "No thank you, we're looking for something a bit plainer."

"Oh." The shopkeeper looked disappointed, but quickly recovered and lifter another, plainer dress from the pile. This was a pretty shade of dark blue, there weren't any ruffles, and it didn't look like it belonged at a ball. "How's this then, dear?"

"That's perfect!" Kertsi exclaimed. "I don't suppose you have another one in the same style for my sister, do you?" She asked, gesturing towards Poppukoon.

The Acara nodded, handed Kertsi the dark blue dress, and turned around to shift through various other piles of clothes. Kertsi and Poppukoon could hear her muttering to herself. "Oh where is it? Is this it? No, that's not it. This one? Nope. Too fancy. Aha! Perfect!" A light purple dress, similar to the one Kertsi held, was thrust forward. "Do you like this one?"

Kertsi nodded. "That's wonderful! We'll take them both. How much?"

"Welly well well then. Let's see here." The pink Acara tapped her finger against her chin. "That'll be a total of two thousand, three hundred, and forty-five neopoints, please. And if you want these matching head scarves, that'll only be an extra fifty neopoints each."

Poppukoon pulled out the neopoints. "We'll take those as well, then." She handed the money and the Acara passed the head scarves over to them and gestured to a tent behind her.

"You can change there, if you want." She offered. Kertsi and Poppukoon thanked her and went to change in the tent.

A few minutes later, Kertsi and Poppukoon emerged form the tent looking completely different. They had their hair wrapped up in the head scarves and the dresses fit perfectly. The clothes they had been wearing earlier they had stuffed into their bags. The Acara smiled. "Oh, dearies! You look fantastic!" She gushed.

"Thank you very, very much ma'am." Poppukoon grinned and adjusted her bag so it sat more comfortably.

"Oh, you're quite welcome!" The Acara beamed and waved as they left.

Nothing happened to them till after they had left Brightvale. Then, just as they were passing the Haunted Woods, they heard a howl. Kertsi shivered.

"What-What was that?" She asked, glancing around. She was so busy looking for a ghost, she didn't see the shadow Lupe slinking out of the trees till he was fully in the light.

"Hello." He growled. "I see you are on a journey." Poppukoon blinked. This Lupe seemed rather abrupt. Could they trust him? Deciding to give him a chance, Poppukoon nodded. "Where are you headed to?"

Kertsi still seemed too startled at his sudden appearance to speak, so Poppukoon did. "Why do you want to know?"

The Lupe grinned. "So suspicious. I just want to help you on your way. It's not safe to stay near the Haunted Woods at night."

"We're…" Still Poppukoon was hesitant to tell him, but he was right. They shouldn't be there longer then necessary. "We're headed to the Lost Desert."

"Then here's my advice: Stay as far away as possible from the marshes. There's quicksand and it will pull you in before you know it." The Lupe stroked his chin with a paw. "Would you like me to be your guide till you get to the Lost Desert Border?"

Kertsi, having recovered from her shock, nodded her head. "That would be wonderful! Thank you."

"It's no problem at all." The Lupe then trotted off, staying out of the Woods and well away from it's border. "Follow me!"

A few days later, they reached the border of the Lost Desert. Once on the way, they had spotted the Defenders again, but the disguises appeared to work and they didn't recognize the Aisha and Kyrii.

Kertsi turned to the shadow Lupe. They still hadn't learned his name, and he didn't seem to want to give it to them. "Thank you very much for your help." Kertsi smiled.

Poppukoon nodded. "If it wasn't for you, we probably would be stuck in some quicksand"

"You're welcome. I figured _someone_ had to help you guys. It was pretty clear you weren't going to make it out by yourself." The Lupe grinned. Kertsi glared at him, but she didn't say anything. He had helped them, after all. "What's wrong? I only spoke the truth." Okay, that was enough! Just as Kertsi was about to retort, Poppukoon stepped forward.

"Then I guess we'll see you later." She tugged on Kertsi's arm, waved to the Lupe, and pulled her older sister away. It would probably take a few more days to get to Coltzan's Shrine. "C'mon, Kertsi. We've still got a ways to go." Kertsi sighed and allowed herself to be pulled away.

"Man it's so _hot_ " Kertsi moaned. They had been walking through the desert for two days now and the desert, being the hottest country on Neopia, was scorching!

Poppukoon wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. "I know, I know. But we're almost there. See?" She pointed toward the Shrine. It was true, for after all this time, Coltzan's Shrine was finally in sight!

"Finally!" Kertsi exclaimed, taking a swig of her water. About to take another drink, she glanced at the water. Only a half bottle left. With a sigh, Kertsi dropped the water bottle back into her bag.

"Kertsi," Poppukoon whispered, tugging on her sister's arm. "We've got company."

Kertsi looked around. It was true: They were being followed once more by the three Defenders who had been trailing them the entire journey. "Great." She grumbled. "But we're almost there. Just keep going and if they come after us, run." Poppukoon nodded and they silently hurried on. Then, just as they thought they were safe and out of the Defender's sight, there was a huge gust of wind and their head scarves blew off.

"Some one out there hates us." Kertsi growled, snatching at her head scarf as it blew away.

Off in the distance they heard: "Hey! That's them! Over there!" Kertsi and Poppukoon turned around and saw the defenders running towards them.

"Run!" Poppukoon shrieked, yanking Kertsi with her and they shot off towards Coltzan's Shrine. After a minute or so of running, Kertsi risked a glance behind them. The Grarrl was gaining on them, and a little bit behind him was the Jetsam. But where was the Lenny?

Kertsi frowned. "Poppukoon, the Lenny's not there-" Suddenly, she cut herself off. "He's up in the sky!" She gasped, jerking her head upwards to scan the sky. She was right! The Lenny was above them and gaining on them! "Poppukoon! Split up! You go right, I'll go left. Meet you at the Shrine in five minutes!"  
"Alright!" Poppukoon nodded and darted off to the right, while Kertsi veered left. This confused the Defenders, thus giving the sisters an advantage. While they could outrun the Grarrl and Jetsam from all the running they'd been doing lately, the Lenny was a problem since he could fly. If they split up, the Lenny couldn't follow them both! There was only one flaw: The Grarrl could actually run pretty well. He went after Poppukoon and the Lenny chased Kertsi.

"There goes my perfect plan." Kertsi muttered, dodging between sand dunes. The Lenny was catching up quick.

Poppukoon, meanwhile, was having much the same trouble. The Grarrl proved to be a better runner then they had thought and was gaining on her. "Perfect plan, Kertsi. We'll split up. 'Course the Grarrl can't run." She grumbled. The Grarrl was pretty quick and it was getting harder and harder to outrun him. Suddenly, she stumbled and tumbled head-over-heels, finally ending up on her back, staring at the Grarrl's red feet.

"Uh… hi?" She tried, rolling onto her knees.

The Grarrl grinned. "Hello." He greeted her. "Mind telling me why you were running?"

"Er… Actually yeah! I do mind!" Poppukoon exclaimed, jumping up and speeding off, faster then before. With a groan, the Grarrl took off after her.

Kertsi tripped and stumbled, but kept running. She absolutely _had_ to get to the Shrine! But she had to lose the Lenny first. But how? Suddenly, she had an idea. Pretending to trip, she hid behind a large sand dune and muttered a spell under her breath. It was a basic spell, one that would duplicate her image, only it would be mirrored. It was a good thing there were no pictures or letters on her clothes, as that would give it away. After a tense moment of concentration, a red Aisha flickered into existence beside her. With a grin, Kertsi leapt to her feet, running towards the Shrine. Her mirror image, however, headed away from her. Thank goodness Trista had made her take those magic classes! The Lenny paused, confused and unsure which one to follow. Finally, he decided that this was a tactic to make him follow the wrong one, while the real one took off in the opposite direction then before. In other words, he decided to follow the mirrored image and took off in the opposite direction. The real Kertsi grinned, speeding up on her race to the Shrine.

Poppukoon, on the other hand, was having a bit more trouble getting the Grarrl off her tail. "There's got to be some way to get rid of him!" Poppukoon frantically looked around. All she could see was a bunch of sand, and a few rocks here and there. She wasn't going to throw rocks at him, that was for sure, but they could come in handy. Stopping down as she ran, she grabbed a few of the larger ones, stuffing them into the pockets of her dress. "Now what?" She wondered aloud. She risked a glance behind her. The Grarrl seemed to be slowing down. Good. "I know!" She gasped. "The river! I'll hide in the river!" Dodging between the sparse trees around the river, she plunged in. The sand at the bottom swirled up and around her. Suddenly, she thought of something, crawling near the bottom of the river bed, she tossed rocks in the opposite direction, making it seem like she was headed in both directions. The Grarrl, now arriving at the river, was confused on which way to go. His indecision gave Poppukoon enough time to pop up and gulp in some air before going down again.

After three more stops for gulps of air, she finally reached the Shrine. She surfaced and pulled herself towards the bank, gasping for breath. A red hand was held out to her and she looked up to see Kertsi bending over her. She grabbed her sister's hand and hauled herself out of the river.

"Why in the world are you soaking wet?" Kertsi asked, wiping her own hands on her dress.

Poppukoon was busy wringing out her dress. Or trying to, anyway. "I was in the river, that's why!"

Kertsi rolled her eyes. "I mean _why _were you in the river?"

"To get that Grarrl off my tail."

"Oh. Then shall we go?" Kertsi offered. Poppukoon nodded and they headed off to rescue their little sister.

Kertsi peeked around Coltzan's Shrine. She didn't see anyone, but that didn't mean no one was there.

"So you finally arrive?" A voice asked. Kertsi and Poppukoon looked up, start led, trying to find the Neopet the voice belonged to. They spun around and saw a red Kacheek a little older than Poppukoon. She was holding a sleeping Cutie in her arms.

Kertsi glared at the Kacheek. "Who are you?" She demanded.

The red Kacheek laughed. "I'm Courteney" She informed them.

"'Courteney'?" Kertsi laughed. "What kind of name is Cour-" She didn't get to finish her sentence because Poppukoon had slapped a hand over her mouth. Poppukoon, unlike Kertsi, knew that angering Courteney wouldn't be good. But it was too late. Courteney was sending a scorching glare at Kertsi and Poppukoon. She set the sleeping Baby Kacheek down on the ground. Cutie yawned and opened her eyes, grinning when she saw Kertsi and Poppukoon, and then settling herself against Coltzan's shrine when Courteney commanded her to stay there.

"That was a mistake," Courteney muttered. It seemed that this Kacheek, unlike most, had a quick temper. "Now where's the neopoints?" She growled.

Kertsi sent an equaling scorching glare back at Courteney, but said nothing. This made Courteney even angrier, and she balled her fists and screamed, "Where's the neopoints?"

"Kertsi, we need to figure something out. We can't give Courteney something we don't have." Poppukoon whispered, turning her back on Courteney.

Kertsi shrugged. "I don't know," She hissed back. "Don't you have any ammo or anything?"

Poppukoon shook her head. "Only these rocks." She explained, pulling out the five stones she had left. "Don't you know any spells? Mum's been making you learn magic."

"No, I only have two memorized: a mirror spell, and a spell that's used to soften tough food. Any others I'd have read out of a book." Kertsi sighed, then her eyes lit up. "That's it! We don't want to hurt her badly or anything with those rocks, but I'll use the food-softening spell to soften the rocks so they squish when they hit her!"

"That sounds great!" Poppukoon grinned and held out the rocks, while Kertsi muttered the food-softening spell over them.

Courteney, meanwhile, was getting rather annoyed. "What are you _doing_?!" She shrieked.

"We're, uh, we're…" Poppukoon stammered, turning her head to look at Courteney. Kertsi wasn't done with the spell yet, and she needed to stall for time.

"I _said _: Give me the neopoints!" Courteney was furious now.

Poppukoon shook her head, a defiant look in her eyes. "No. You give us Cutie first."

Courteney seemed to glare fire balls at the blue Kyrii. "NO! GIVE. ME. THE. NEOPOINTS!"

Poppukoon cringed at Courteney's loud, high-pitched shriek. "I'm done." Kertsi whispered into her ear, taking three of the rocks. "Let's go." A broad grin split both sisters' faces and Courteney glared at them suspiciously.

"What're yo- HEY!" A soft, gooshy, used-to-be-a-rock landed smack on the red Kacheek's cheek. It was soon followed by another, and another. "What? Stop! Stop right now!" She cried. And actually, the rocks did stop coming. Kertsi and Poppukoon had run out.

"Uh-oh." Poppukoon gulped as she and Kertsi backed away from Courteney. She was literally shaking with you.

"Why you little BRATS! I'll get you for this!" She slowly advanced on the two sisters.

"What now?" Poppukoon asked Kertsi.

"No idea." Kertsi replied.

"Stop right there!" A familiar behind them commanded. Kertsi and Poppukoon whirled around. Near the base of Coltzan's Shrine, Cutie clapped for even she recongnized the uniforms of the Neopian Defenders. It was the Grarrl, Lenny, and Jetsam! All had piled of rocks stacked near them. "Say, Kertsi," The Lenny turned to Kertsi. He must have learned her name after hearing Poppukoon say it multiple times. "I don't suppose you could do that rock-softening spell, could you?"

Kertsi looked a little startled and confused, but quickly recovered. "Of course I can!" She announced with a wide grin, heading with Poppukoon to where the Defenders stood. There she promptly set to work softening the rocks, while Poppukoon was supplied with a pile of rocks as well. Each Defender and Poppukoon grinned, and it was Courteney's turn to look nervous.

"You-you aren't really going to throw all those at me, are you?" She gulped. The group nodded and each one, minus Kertsi who was busily softening all the rocks, picked up an already-soft rock. A barrage of squishy rocks was directed at Courteney, who shrieked and covered her head, while trying to dodge the odd weapons. Her effort didn't amount to much, however, and soon she was covered in even more rock goop. So much, in fact, that the Defenders and Poppukoon had only used up half their supply of rocks when Courteney gave up.

"Okay! Okay! You guys win! Just stop throwing those gross rocks!" She cried, throwing up her arms in a gesture of surrender. The Defenders grinned and dropped their squishy rocks. One more squishy rock, however, smacked Coureteny in the face. The Defenders and Poppukoon turned around in time to see a very satisfied Kertsi brushing rock-goop off her hands. The Lenny shook his head and marched up to Courteney, slapping handcuffs onto her wrists.

"Wait a minute, please." Poppukoon called, stooping to pick Cutie up. "I just want to ask her a question."

The Grarrl nodded. "Sure you can." He said, stepping with the Lenny away from Coureteny, though they kept a wary eye on her.

The red Kacheek glared at Poppukoon and Kertsi as they approached her. "We were just wondering why you kidnapped Cutie? It wasn't just for the money, was it?" Poppukoon asked her.

Courteney just glared at them until the Jetsam nudged her in the leg. "Answer their question." He growled.

"Fine," She muttered, sending a glare to the Jetsam. "Yes, I did it for the neopoints, but only because I don't have a mom or dad! I was abandoned when I was only her age." She nodded towards Cutie. "I didn't have any place to stay, while you all lived in a nice, cozy marble mansion up on Terror Mountain! I figured since you guys were rich, if I kidnapped her to get some money so I could get myself a house."

It was quiet for a long moment, while everyone digested this information. She was just an abandoned neopet looking for a place to stay! Finally, the silence was broken when both Kertsi and Poppukoon burst out laughing. This, of course, earned them odd looks from the Defenders of Neopia and Courteney.

"What's so funny?" Courteney demanded, looking rightfully confused. It was a while before the two sisters could control themselves enough to answer.

Kertsi chuckled. "You see, heh, we aren't rich."

"You aren't? Then why do you live in a marble house?" The red Kacheek asked, looking skeptical.

"'Cause our Mum wanted it. She figured if we could live in a great house, then it wouldn't matter if she spent more neopoints then she could afford to!" Poppukoon explained with a grin. "For a while, we lived on the Soup Kitchen and omelets and jellies till Mum could earn back all those neopoints she spent!"

"Yeah, she's still spending too much on furniture, even though we tell her she shouldn't." Kertsi informed Coureteny.

Coureteny nodded, though she was still a bit confused, and the Defenders were leading her away when Kertsi stopped them. The Jetsam turned around, annoyed. "What now?"

"Where are you taking her?" Kertsi asked them, taking Cutie from Poppukoon.

"Back to the HQ."

"Why? She should be put into the Pound so that someone can adopt her and give her a home."

The Defenders paused and discussed this among themselves. After a minute or so, they faced Kertsi again. "As long as the Commander agrees, she'll be put in the Pound to be adopted."

Kertsi and Poppukoon grinned. "Thanks so much!" They cried, and waved till the Defenders were but a speck in the distance.

"What now?" Kertsi asked Poppukoon, but Poppukoon was busy scribbling a note down on a scrap of paper. She gave a sharp whistle and a Pteri flew down from seemingly nowhere and landed on the sand at their feet.

Poppukoon handed the Pteri the note. "Take this to Trista Hanako, 48247 Freezy Path, Terror Mountain." She commanded it. The Pteri nodded, grasped the note in it's claws, and flew off.

"What was that all about?" Kertsi inquired.

"Oh, just sending a Neomail to Mum, telling her to pick us up at Coltzan's Shrine." Poppukoon said with a satisfied smile. Kertsi grinned and the three of them, Kertsi, Poppukoon and Cutie, all settled down in the sand to wait.

Kertsi smiled and set down her pen. Her story was finally finished. Maybe The Neopian Times would accept it? She pushed back her desk chair and looked around her. How their house had changed since that time! Even though it was only a few months ago, almost all the rooms in their house that they needed were built, and almost completely furnished! And pretty soon, their house would be complete. And all those helpers along the way? It turned out that Trista had hired them to keep and eye on Kertsi and Poppukoon along the way. "A bit of extra security." Trista had explained. The Defenders, after it was all done, had apologized to Kertsi and Poppukoon for all the trouble they had caused, and Kertsi and Poppukoon had accepted their apology knowing that the Defenders were just doing their job. Courteney was allowed to go to the pound where she was adopted by Trista's sister, Oconnell. So all in all, everything turned out great!

There was a slam at the door that signaled the return of Poppukoon and Trista. Kertsi gathered her story up and scooped Cutie into her arms and went downstairs to greet them.

**The End**

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**A/N:** Well, that's the end of it! I hoped you liked it! 


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